Mrs BRAHAM - 1997-04-30
Recently, the ALP spokesman on education and telecommunications issued a press release demanding a response to the Public Accounts Committee's findings on Aboriginal education, even though he was well aware that one had been tabled in the House. Has the member for Stuart made any contact with the minister or his office with regard to this response?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the member for Stuart issued a press release on 10 March in relation to the PAC report on Aboriginal education. One may wonder why he has said nothing since. However, the answer is very simple. I have, in fact ...
Mr Toyne: I raised it 3 times in the House.
Mr FINCH: The honourable member says he raised it 3 times in the House. He is talking about December of course.
I received a telephone call from a journalist about this press release. I advised the journalist that, if the member for Stuart had been taking any notice in the Assembly during the last sittings, he would have known that a comprehensive response, comprising close to 30 pages, to the PAC report was tabled in this Assembly. The honourable member may use the excuse that he was not sitting in the Chamber when I actually tabled that document. However, being the great surfer of the Internet that he is, he will be pleased to know that he is able to access Hansard on it, and thus refer to the document on his laptop computer. That is not a difficult task for a spokesman on telecommunications. I have a CD disk for him that provides step-by-step instructions on accessing the Internet. That might assist the honourable member. If it fails, and he cannot find the reference to the PAC report on education, he might equally well simply refer to Hansard via the very expensive computer supplied at taxpayers' cost in his electorate office. That is all he has to do.
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I waited all the last sittings for a question on the PAC report on education. Not one question was asked about the report recommendations, even by interjection. On the very last day of the sittings, I gave up on the honourable member - he was out the back, surfing - and I decided that I should table the response for the benefit of honourable members. I will give him another copy if he would like me to do that. If he has any questions following from that, I invite him to send me a message through e-mail.
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ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the member for Stuart issued a press release on 10 March in relation to the PAC report on Aboriginal education. One may wonder why he has said nothing since. However, the answer is very simple. I have, in fact ...
Mr Toyne: I raised it 3 times in the House.
Mr FINCH: The honourable member says he raised it 3 times in the House. He is talking about December of course.
I received a telephone call from a journalist about this press release. I advised the journalist that, if the member for Stuart had been taking any notice in the Assembly during the last sittings, he would have known that a comprehensive response, comprising close to 30 pages, to the PAC report was tabled in this Assembly. The honourable member may use the excuse that he was not sitting in the Chamber when I actually tabled that document. However, being the great surfer of the Internet that he is, he will be pleased to know that he is able to access Hansard on it, and thus refer to the document on his laptop computer. That is not a difficult task for a spokesman on telecommunications. I have a CD disk for him that provides step-by-step instructions on accessing the Internet. That might assist the honourable member. If it fails, and he cannot find the reference to the PAC report on education, he might equally well simply refer to Hansard via the very expensive computer supplied at taxpayers' cost in his electorate office. That is all he has to do.
Page 2102
I waited all the last sittings for a question on the PAC report on education. Not one question was asked about the report recommendations, even by interjection. On the very last day of the sittings, I gave up on the honourable member - he was out the back, surfing - and I decided that I should table the response for the benefit of honourable members. I will give him another copy if he would like me to do that. If he has any questions following from that, I invite him to send me a message through e-mail.
Page 2103
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016